When we come to God, we must bring nothing but Christ with us. Any ingredients, or any previous qualifications of our own, will poison and corrupt faith. He that builds upon duties, graces, etc., knows not the merits of Christ. This makes believing so hard, so far above nature. If you believe, you must every day renounce as dung and dross (Phil 3:7-8) your privileges, your obedience, your baptism, your sanctification, your duties, your graces, your tears, your meltings, your humblings, and nothing but Christ must be held up. Every day your workings, your self-sufficiency must be destroyed. You must take all out of God’s hand. Christ is the gift of God (John 4:10). Faith is the gift of God (Eph 2:8). Pardon, a free gift (Isa 45:22). Ah, how nature storms, frets, rages at this, that all is of gilt [superficial brilliance or gloss] and it can purchase nothing with its actings and tears and duties, that all workings are excluded, and of no value in heaven. Thomas Willcox
True faith is above nature because nature believes in self and though it might believe in Christ in some way, it will believe in Christ to give it things that are according to nature which is always self-love. A person which is in the grip of nature or self-love will not give up all hope in self and the things of self unless they are in words only. Giving up self in words is according to self since they are to convince self or others about things that are according to self-love. But to really and truly renounce as dung and dross the privileges of self, the obedience of self, the baptism of self, the sanctification of self, the duties of self, the grace of self, the tears of self, the meltings of self, and the humblings of self in order to have Christ alone is far beyond the ability of self. But that is precisely what true faith does. It is faith in Christ alone with no faith in self.
The general thought in America (and beyond) is that the self must renounce self and then must take hold of Christ. This may not be stated in words, but it is said that you must do this and you must do that. What is it that can renounce self? Will self ever renounce self? As long as self is renouncing self there is still life to self. As long as it is self taking hold of Christ, it is still the act of self and self is the fleshly nature of man. As long as self is renouncing self and self is taking hold of Christ, that soul is not resting and trusting and receiving Christ by grace alone. Oh how hard this is for the human heart to realize. This is not just some distinction between some theological camps, this is the distinction between Christianity and non-Christianity. The basic doctrines and morality of Christianity can be held by non-believers and used to deceive self and others, but the true Christian is one that renounces self by grace and takes hold of Christ by grace. There is a huge difference.
It is one thing for the soul to believe some facts and then to take action by its own strength, but that taking action by its own strength is really proof that one does not have true faith. A true faith beholds Christ for who He really is and it looks to Him to work in the soul by grace. True faith receives Christ by grace alone rather than looking to itself to do anything. The nature of true faith is to receive grace alone (Romans 4:16) which means to receive apart from works of the soul or any action the soul takes in its own strength. This is where the soul begins to discover the strength of self. Self wants something to do and self wants some of the credit, though indeed self will cling to orthodox doctrine and language. Self will hide self under the language of responsibility and do that without renouncing self. If we use the word “responsibility” as a synonym for “obligation”, then that is what was originally meant by the word “obligation.” But if we use the word “responsibility with the meaning of “to respond with ability”, we have moved from orthodoxy to something other than grace alone.
For the soul to renounce its own obedience is to realize and bow to the teaching of Scripture that all good works come from grace and what the self does is sinful. For the soul to renounce all of its goodness, works, and religious duties and inward meltings in order to hold up Christ is what a soul that lives by grace alone will do, but the soul that is holing on to self cannot do in reality though it may say that in words. But the soul that holds on to Christ and Christ alone must do this in reality and not just with words. The soul that holds on to Christ looks and rests in the cross and blood of Christ to take away all of its guilt and sin. The soul that holds on to Christ looks and rests in the righteousness of Christ for all of its righteousness. When the soul truly holds on to Christ in this way and lifts up and exalts Christ in this way, it will renounce all of its religious acts as dung and dross in relation to self and as nothing for them being done by the flesh but as acts of grace they do glorify Christ. But they will never add to the justification of the sinner in the slightest. They are renounced thoroughly in terms of justification.
God Loves... Himself 
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